Channel 4 study: Only 4% able to identify all fake news stories

Less than one in 20 British adults could correctly identify all true or fake news stories from a selection of six, according to a new Channel 4 study, which also found that those who use Facebook as their primary source of news are less likely to be able to tell the difference.

Despite 49% of respondents stating they were either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident that they could tell the difference between a fake news story and a real news story, just 4% were able to pick out the three made-up stories, while half believed at least one of the fake news stories shown.

Of those that said Facebook was their primary source of news, 71% thought at least one of the fake stories was true, compared to 47% of those who primarily get their news from broadcasters.

The study also looked into how concerned people are about disinformation purporting to be fact, with concerns greater among younger people than the general population.

49% of respondents said they are worried about the effects of fake news; however, the figure rises to 57% of 18-24 year olds.

Similarly, while almost half of adults (46%) said there need to be more fact checking sites, this rises to 69% for 18-24s and to 60% for those that use Facebook as their primary source of news.

Two thirds of the British public think social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter are not doing enough to tackle fake news, while 55% do not think the government is doing enough.

UK MPs launched an inquiry into fake news last month, which will investigate how fake news spreads by addressing the responsibility of search engines and social media.

The inquiry will also examine the impact it has on traditional journalism and understanding the world, and question the role of online advertising.

The study was carried out by YouGov with a sample of 1684 British adults aged over 18 on 29 and 30 January 2017.